Boston Restaurants Serving Exclusive Craft Beers

Island Creek Oyster Bar’s custom pilsner. Photo via ICOB.

While we’ve showed you the best that New England has to offer when it comes to craft beer, there’s another source for unique, hyper-local, high-quality suds: local restaurants with custom brews on tap. Thanks to collaborations with local breweries like Smuttynose, Cambridge Brewing Company, and Cape Ann Brewery, restaurants like Island Creek Oyster Bar and The Haven have created exclusive beers that reflect the fare and philosophy of their concepts. Get acquainted:

Island Creek Oyster Bar: ICOB Pilsner, $6, High & Mighty
ICOB’s exclusive pilsner results from a collaboration with Will Shelton of local brewery High & Mighty (and Belchertown-based distributor, Shelton Brothers). The crisp beer is brewed with jasmine and orange peel, and was designed to be the ideal accompaniment to fried fare (like ICOB’s addictive fried clams), and shellfish.

Ten Tables Jamaica Plain: Ten Tables Porter, $7, Berkshire Brewing Company
The addition of fresh-ground ancho chiles and cacao nibs makes South Deerfield-based Berkshire Brewing Company‘s custom TTJP porter both rich and spiced. It’s best to try this one on Mondays, when you can also pair it with a juicy Ten Tables burger for a respectable $15.

The Haven: Sweet Scottish Stout, $7, Notch Brewing
Notch owner and head brewer Chris Lohring created this beer specially for the Jamaica Plain-based Scottish tavern, and he modeled the brew after WWI and WWII-era Scottish stouts (which were lower in ABV, coming in at around 4 percent). Scottish stouts are sweeter than their Irish counterparts, and this version is no different. Word of warning to the lactose-intolerant, the sweetness this time comes from lactose — milk sugar — so you may want to skip this one if you’re watching your dairy.

The Beehive: Beehive Honey Brew, $5.25/small, $8/large, Cape Ann Brewing Company
For a beer that reflects the “beehive” theme, the bar/restaurant turned to Gloucester-based Cape Ann Brewing Company for a light pilsner with a floral, local honey-infused finish (get it?).

Woodward at The Ames: Woodward Ale, $6, Smuttynose Brewery
Woodward is typically associated with a more sceney cocktail crowd, but as evidenced by their collaboration with New Hampshire-based brewery Smuttynose, they take their beer seriously, too. The Woodward Ale is a mild, light IPA brewed with curacao orange peel, cumin, and cardamom.

Moksa: Moksa Brew (coming soon), Cambridge Brewing Company
While it’s not available yet, Moksa is planning a signature “Moksa Brew” created in conjunction with Kendall Square-based Cambridge Brewing Company. In keeping with the restaurant’s cuisine, the beer will be a lager that’s infused with Asian spices. Expect it to drop within the next few months.

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Additional research by Jon Cheng.